Check
by CurlyTuft
Summary: The agents of the Warehouse spend two years living in a timeline they were never supposed to be in. There was just something off about everything that happened after episode 4x01 ("A New Hope"). Why? Because that wasn't the correct timeline. The pocketwatch and the astrolabe? Those weren't the only artifacts from Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe that held unique properties.
1. Ch 1 - Check : Point

She didn't think about it. She didn't remember it. The locket remained on her the entire time, comfortably nestled in a handkerchief inside her jeans' pocket. It remained there hours later, after the explosion, after the loss, after the chaos and mayhem that was presenting itself throughout the world.

That is, until Myka got to the airport.

"Ma'am? Please empty your pockets."

The TSA agent held out a small round tray, dangling it before her as Myka racked her brain for what she could possibly have on her. The security agent could not comprehend why these three people, who they have seen countless times at this airport and countless times at the tiny security checkpoint, could be taking so long and not know the rules by this point.

Mouth agape, eyebrows turned up and a dead stare from Myka said it all. She quickly patted down her person in front of the agent, upturning the palms of her hands when she was done. "I did. Nothing."

"Could you please check again?"

"Yeah, Mykes, how many times have we gone through security in the past couple of years?" Pete chimed in from behind her. He placed his duffle bag and shoes in a light grey tray on the conveyor belt and then quickly rifled through his pant pockets for any metal items. After a moment of searching, Pete pulled out his AA chip, placing it in the tray the TSA agent held in front of her.

"I don't have anything on me. Besides, I already emptied everything out."

The increasingly disgruntled TSA agent looked Myka up and down, waving Pete a go-ahead to pass through the x-ray. Pete jokingly shook his head, acting all outraged at his partner's inability to do something they've done at least four times a month since they started working at the Warehouse. All the airport staff at least knew the Warehouse agents by sight, particularly Pete who constantly asked when the concessions of this dinky airport would be upgraded.

"What's the hold up?" Artie muttered, removing his shoes and placing them in a tray along with his leather bag.

"Oh, it's you again." the TSA agent sighed as Artie approached. "She's the one holding everybody up."

Artie looked at Myka, who only returned a bewildered stare to him, the same one she had given Pete a moment before. She looked through the inside lining of the jacket she was wearing, still not finding anything. The now thoroughly irritated TSA agent, still holding the tray in front of her, waved through Artie the security check. Like Pete, he pulled MacPherson's watch from his pocket and placed it in the tray along with Pete's AA chip.

"I told you already, there's nothing - "

Myka paused, remembering picking up the locket back in that dingy basement in Hong Kong. How could she have possibly forgotten? She immediately pressed the leg of her jeans where a small rectangular object left a clear outline again her thigh. As Myka removed the item from her pocket, she took a moment to remove it from the handkerchief and raise it to eye level. Her thumb grazed over the enamel front, absorbing the texture of the small locket that meant so much to Helena. Nearly laughing for a moment, no doubt with a smirk on her face, Myka reflected on the object in her hand. This priceless object that contained a mother's sole memory of her only child, an item that mother left behind in the hope that the intended party would recover it and return it to her.

Still feeling along the front of the locket, Myka opened it to look at the inner contents: a dark-haired little girl who, contrary to photography at the time, was smiling at the camera. Myka fingered the golden clasp along the middle of the locket, running her thumb up and down the side repeatedly. She was completely lost in her train of thought, smiling back at the little girl she knew she would never meet. When Myka realized through a tap on her shoulder from Artie that she was still holding up the line, her focus dissipated and returned to the line at the airport. With a resigned sigh, she placed the locket in the tray the TSA agent held atop the other two items already inside. Myka passed through the x-ray machine without hassle, gathered her bag and boots at the end of the conveyor belt.

"Sorry about that." she said to the TSA agent.

"Alright. Just not in the mood for a cavity search this afternoon, but considering the crazy I've seen so far today, anything can happen." The agent placed the small tray she held on the belt to pass through the machine.

Pete finished tying his shoes and walked over to collect his chip from the tray. He looked at the three items inside, awed at the gold pocketwatch intended to undo all of the chaos unleashed into the world with the opening of Pandora's Box. It was then he caught sight of the locket sitting in there.

"You still have that?"

"Yeah. I forgot I even had it in my pocket." Myka finished zipping up the sides of her boots and walked over to collect the locket from the tray he now held.

"You never gave it back to her?"

"Not like we had any time to catch up, we were too preoccupied."

Typically, Pete would have snickered, but this wasn't that sort of day. "I bet you were," he would have said. Then Myka would have punched him in the arm and, in typical Pete fashion, feigned pain in the spot where her fist and his arm connected. Instead, Pete took the locket in his hands and held it out to her. "You want to wear it?"

"Wear it?"

"Yeah. She would've wanted you to."

Myka turned around, lifting her hair as Pete undid the clasp and then safely secured it around her neck. She grabbed the locket to position it in a comfortable spot underneath her shirt, resting against her skin. "You know, it wasn't...I never...we never…"

"Let's just go sit and then we'll be on that plane in no time."

No time. There wasn't enough time. There was never enough time for any of them.


	2. Ch 2 - Check : In

There was really something wrong with this whole situation. Really wrong. Myka couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but something was just off about it all.

She got into the car, buckled up and waited for Pete to get in the passenger's side. After a day like today, it was her turn to drive. He still stood in the doorway of Kelly's house, quietly talking to her and gesturing around a bit in his typical goofy manner.

Truthfully, it felt good to catch up with old friends and acquaintances from their earlier days at the Warehouse. It was rewarding to see how lives has changed, how people grew and how some had tried to put Warehouse life behind them. Well, some people.

Myka's thoughts drifted to people like Hugo, who tried to make a life for himself outside of the world of the Warehouse in Connecticut. Kelly, who married and was now expecting her first child. Helena, who was somewhere far away from all this. Nevertheless, something, always a troublesome artifact, always drew them back in.

Pete and Kelly hugged goodbye, and that was the end of it. Pete shuffled down the front steps and beelined for the car door. He fidgeted with his polo shirt, his secured seat belt and finally his arm rest as Myka started the car. Without saying a word, he got settled and looked out the window at Kelly's new house and her new life one last time. There was no guarantee that they would keep in touch, especially with a baby on the way. There were always promises between the current agents and those with whom they were involved that they would remain in touch. But did they?

Pete's eyes were watery and he did his utmost to shield his face from Myka who was pulling out of the parking space. She knew he was upset. She knew what it felt like to be driving away from someone you care about. She knew there was nothing that could be done to alleviate the terrible feelings and thoughts that went with this.

"Pete, can I ask you a question?"

"Better than anyone I know." At least his jovial nature was still present at the saddest of times.

"Remember when we drove home from Wisconsin? You know, that last time we saw Helena."

"Yeah."

"Is this like that moment?"

Pete paused to gather his thoughts, looking back out the window at the neat rows of houses lining this friendly-looking neighborhood. He quickly dabbed the corner of his eye with his shirt sleeve before turning to face Myka who was concentrating on the road.

"Yeah."

Myka didn't say anything in reply, just kept driving in complete silence as Pete did his best to gather himself together. When Myka couldn't have any more of the quiet tension, she pulled into a gas station about ten miles from Kelly's house.

"I understand." Myka finally said once the car stopped.

Pete shook his head. "No, you don't. H.G. wasn't telling you to get back in the car and get your man."

"I did tell her to give it a try with Nate." she offered.

"And did she?"

"We're talking about you, Pete."

Pete sighed and clasped his hands tightly. "Kelly thinks it's 'obvious' that I'm in love with you." Despite him sitting next to her, pouring his heart out and openly discussing what's on his mind, Myka let out a tremendous laugh.

"Are you?"

"No!" Pete quickly answered, "So don't take this the wrong way: you're my best friend, Mykes. I can always count on you. Besides, I know you kinda -"

"Don't say it!"

Pete quickly shut his mouth and looked back at Myka. "I really loved Kelly."

"I know." Myka replied. She then reached for a nearby bottle of water to have a sip. She fiddled with the seam of the paper label until it loosened from the plastic and came undone in her hand. "It's times like this where I wonder if we did the right thing when the Warehouse exploded. What if we didn't do the right thing?"

"You know, I do wonder what happened in that other timeline."

"Ha! You probably married Kelly and have two kids by now."

"Yeah, and you would probably be picking out furniture from some antique shop in London with..."

Myka didn't listen to Pete finish the sentence.

The two of them remained quiet in the car for some time after their thoughts of the impossible timeline permeated their minds. Each stared off out the window, thinking about what could have been, not saying a word to one another until they got back to South Dakota.


	3. Ch 3 - Check : Up

Blankly staring at the Gorilla Glass of her smartphone wasn't exactly how Myka had planned to spend her day off. Just staring at the smooth screen, well, as smooth as it could possibly be from either being shoved into a bag or subject to one of the many sets of keys she carried around that apparently scratched the front of it to no end. Occasionally, the screen would light up with notifications, usually about the news or perhaps a weather alert. Nothing pressing, nothing urgent, nothing that required Myka's accrual attention.

Waiting. Myka was waiting.

Patiently. As patiently as she could. For just the right time to pick up the phone and dial.

Anxiously. Anxiously and patiently waiting for the right moment to slide to unlock her phone, press the phone icon button and then shift to the right side of the phone screen where "Favorites" were stored.

"Favorites" featured approximately six people before the fold: Pete, Artie, Claudia, Steve, Abigail and her parents. The other numbers in her phone fell into the "All contacts with phone numbers" category. Myka scrolled past the Favorites to the "everybody else" section.

That's where Helena's number was. Technically, she wasn't even a favorite. She was just "other."

They didn't contact each other, even though after the visit to Wisconsin had them promise to one another that they would stay in touch, they didn't. It was just empty words, like Kelly saying she and Pete should stay in contact, but anyone who has a newborn is unlikely to think of an old flame from years ago.

Besides, it was clear that Helena had made her choice that day. She stayed, she didn't get in the car to head back to South Dakota.

That was no excuse not to stay in touch though, right?

Enough procrastination. Myka picked up the phone, scrolled to those "All contacts with phone numbers" to find Helena's. She pressed the name...and the phone rang.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

"Hello?"

"Helena, it's Myka."

"Myka. How are you? I'm so sorry I haven't phoned."

"Okay," Myka let out a huge breath, "is this an alright time for us to talk?"

"Of course."

"I'm calling because, well, calling because we haven't spoken since last year. I said I'd be better about staying in contact and haven't been. Sorry."

"I'm equally to blame." Helena paused, sighing into the receiver. "Afraid I've not been the best of friends."

"It's okay."

"Not really. I need to be better about these things."

"We all do, don't we?"

"Yes." Myka paused, worried about what she was about to say. Was it strange to try to jump into a profound conversation after yet another year of not speaking to one another? "Helena, I've been thinking a lot the past couple weeks. Thinking about something that recently happened between Pete and myself-"

"Are you engaged?"

"What?!"

"Engaged."

Myka laughed, "Why is that the first thing you think of?"

"Not sure really. Why else would you phone me?"

Taken aback by Helena's comment, Myka was silent for a moment before she could even think of responding. "Well, that's not the case."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not engaged to Pete, H.G."

"Fair enough."

"Or involved with him."

"I see." Neither woman spoke for a few seconds. Nothing but the sound of each other's breaths could be heard at either end of the earpiece. "So, why did you phone again?"

"A couple weeks ago, Pete and I went to see Kelly. You remember her?"

Helena groaned, "Did you really phone me just to dredge up past moments of despair and poor decision making?"

"Of course not. Kelly is married now and having a baby -"

"Lovely."

"- and there was an artifact, which is why we were in touch. You know, weird things happening, who you gonna call?"

"Understandable."

"Aside from Pete mentioning that Kelly thinks he's in love with me -"

"What? So you are involved after all. It's alright, Myka."

"No, no, no. The point of all this is: Pete was upset when we got in the car and drove away from Kelly's house. I mean, I can't say what exactly it was that got him, if it's what Kelly said to him or the sight of her settled down with a family, either way, Pete was really upset."

Before Myka continued, she waited a moment for Helena to chime in with any of her thoughts. Helena said nothing, but Myka could still hear her making noises on the other end.

"The point is: Kelly left and Pete missed that opportunity. He regrets it. He spent the car ride back not saying anything. There were times he was crying and honestly, there wasn't anything I could do. It got me thinking to last year, when I drove away -"

"Myka, don't."

"- when Pete drove us away and I wanted you to come back with us. This time, I was where Pete was last year, looking on in this situation and it struck me that this is what it looks like. I saw it in Pete, I saw my reactions in how he saw Kelly that day. We drove away. That day in Boone broke me. Instead, you stayed there with Nate and -"

"You know, I didn't stay much longer."

"What?"

"We're not together anymore."

"Oh."

"It," Helena sighed, "wasn't where I needed to be."

"I'm sorry, I know how much -"

"Don't be sorry, it was simply the right decision on my part."

"As long as you're happy and where you need to be."

Myka took another deep breath before continuing. "Just, Pete and Kelly, and a missed opportunity. I really don't want want to miss another."

"Myka, I…"

"Or what if we did completely miss that opportunity? What if we can never get that back? What if this all wasn't supposed to happen? I can't help but feel as though something is wrong here. There is just something so very off about everything that has happened in the past couple of years. What if, in that other timeline, Pete and Kelly were the happy ones? What if, we were the happy ones."

"Myka, I...met someone."

In just four words, Myka heart dropped.

"Her name's Giselle and she's..."


	4. Ch 4 - Check : List

Why would Pete be looking at me like that, Myka thought, he never looks at me like that...more importantly, why am I looking at him like that?

She knew exactly why he was looking at her that way, and when it suddenly dawned on her, Myka was completely taken aback. "What have I done?" she muttered aloud.

Myka scurried out of the bathroom and ran into her own room, shutting and securing the door. Like Sisyphus, she found herself seated in the exact same position she was a week earlier with the same team at hand to complete. For a moment, it seemed as though no matter what happened, Myka was destined to repeat this glaring at her cell phone until something happened. Until something that was supposed to have happened actually happened. Myka sat quietly at the edge of her bed, facing that glassy cell phone on the nightstand. A few buttons later, a few rings later, the person on the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

There was no need to say who it was on the other end. Myka knew that Helena knew it was her. Either by the caller ID or the tone of her voice, Helena knew instantly who it was.

"You have a moment?"

"Of course, hang on." Myka waited, looking around the room as she listened to Helena on the other end of the phone, speaking in a muffled tone, "Excuse me, I just have to take this." There was another pause, more silence, finally the sound of a door shutting and the creak of what sounded like a chair. "Twice in one month. Alright?"

"I did something stupid. Well, uncharacteristically me."

"Oh?"

"I kissed Pete."

Silence.

"I hate myself so much right now."

"Why?"

"Because it's Pete! He's my friend! He is the person I have described on paper as 'like a brother' and on multiple occasions!"

"Yes, well, don't you, at least 'like' him?"

"No!"

"There must be a solid reason that this happened."

"I felt badly for him."

"Myka, you're not one to act out of pity."

"Well? I did. I kissed him."

Myka couldn't calm herself down. What was she doing? Why was she opening up to a woman who probably wasn't that interested in her, well, perhaps not interested in her anymore. Clearly with the new girlfriend or whatever she was, Helena had not only moved on from Myka, but also Nate and any chance of returning to the Warehouse life.. This whole situation was downright messy, significantly messier than most she happened to find herself in.

"Everyone's been trying to convince me that I'm in love with him. You know, you start to hear something over and over again, and seemingly out of nowhere makes sense in your head, even though, logically, you tell yourself it doesn't."

From the silence at the other end, it was clear Helena was confused by all this. She had known Myka for four years, ever since she left the Bronzer, and had never heard her sound so unraveled in all that time.

"There is something wrong. This timeline is wrong," Myka cried, "I don't want this world, this is not where I belong. It's not where you belong."

"How do you know that?" exclaimed Helena, "How do you know what's best for me?"

"I don't know why, it's just, this entire reality seems off. Whatever happened with the Astrolabe, with resetting the Warehouse, it threw off the entire course of events of our lives." Myka paused, sitting back down on the bed again to stare off forward her bedroom door. "I need your help putting the timeline back to how it's supposed to be."

"Why now? It's been nearly two years since this happened, Myka. I've moved on."

"I haven't moved on. Something is wrong. We're not acting ourselves. It's not only that we're living a different timeline, but it's as though we had been moving toward something else and someone suddenly decided to rewrite our scripts last-minute, rewrite my life into some bullshit alternate -"

"You are ultimately responsible for your own decisions."

"Yes, but I don't understand why I am making these decisions. You know me. I wouldn't..."

"Helena, tu viens avec?" Myka heard the muted voice of who she could only imagine to the be the one-and-only Giselle.

"Deux minutes, ma chère." Helena sighed, paused before continuing and waited for her to leave the room. Myka could hear the faint sounds of heels clicking on the hardwood floors. "Back."

"Belgian?" claimed Myka, "Really?"

Helena chuckled, "You always had a good ear."

Myka hadn't realized she had been holding her breath, but eventually let out a tremendous gasp when she regained her composure. "Please. Please come back. Even for a couple days or a week and maybe, just maybe, we can try to figure this out."

"I'm not sure…"

"It's not just me, it's Pete too. It's Artie, it's Claudia, it's Steve. It's Leena. And it's you. Please."

Again, more silence at the other end of the phone. Myka heard a final deep breath and smacking of lips. "Alright. Let me phone work and see what I can do."


End file.
